Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-01-19
ODD MEN IN THE WOODS.
Tales of Wisconsin Lumber Choir

Tales of Wisconsin Lumber Chop
pers-Story of Sailor Bill.
Zone OF the real geniuses met In the
woods, aid Wi .n.nGin lunaherman to
New ~Ark DNIi hpu nApress revurter,
"was 49, r@Nsv- ~a-. ~~I<s EssssI.r sgssi.
as he bad been sailor before he became
umeerman. He was marked by q
long, ugly scar, reaching from one eve
acr"@a his Uea~ 'o tho norman OF hla
mouth. Re was not over 35 years old,
and was very intelligent. When he was
sober he claimed to he a Vermonter:
&aen he w9- a Itt&l9 Pp1as the influences
oI nquor ne SAID ne was born 10 Italy, and
when he was more than half seas
over he invariably insisted that
he was full. blooded Irish.
man, born in Dublin. He was the best.
hearted man / ever met. His story was
very intsraHti1e FSJa wears OF age
he ran away and went to sea as a cabin
boy. For years ne was knocked and
kicked about, but he pluckily kept at it
for eighteen years. During most OF this
time ne made himself proficient In French
and Spanish and kept diary Of what ne
saw and experienced. Tue way he came
to leave the sea included The story of his
ugly scar. He was boatswain OF the ship
he was with and III were sailing from
4
prevailed. the passage was slow, and
provisions began To run short. The cap
tain began to get scared and put the crew
on snort rations. They rebeled,
appointed Bill leader, and resolved
TO take the ship. He, as sDokes-
man, accOsted the mate and told hIm the
men must have full ratiOns. He and the
men were ordered back to work, and al
their refusal the mate suddenly pulled
out dirk knife and slashed it across
Bll's face. The two men cinched, and
the next thing was that the mate was
dead. The captain and several others
were then tied up and the mutineers had
the ship to themselves. They managed
to reach San Francisco, and the moment
they touched the dock they jumped
ashore without fastening their vessel and
scattered as best they could. Bill then
went into the mining region, and one day
was surprised tc come across notice
that 5000 was offered tor his head. tie at
once made arrangements to change local
tiles ana drove a mule team overland.
"One VI the incest men | met among
the lumbermen-you will be surprised to
hear OF sucn man doing such work
was an En4llshman who was an Oxford
graduate and belonged to one OF the old
est families. He was about % wears old,
fne artist, and spoke four or five Ian
but perfect gentleman always, and was
man whom all the men looked up to.
He prefers the lite and follows it from
choice. He is sure Of enough property
from his family to make him rich. He
left mis- home because of a disagreement
with his father for taking the part of
brother who hal incurred the Governors
displeasuTe. He Is a man of wonderful
nerve, and works as hard and as regu-
To- ho Of ba NJ ohO
"A very odd character and a regular
daredevil was an Irishmsn named Will
liam Seymour, whom we called Black Bill
because OF his DARK. swartny com pie XiOn.
He was of medium size, but r. markedly
powerful and a wonderful chopper. | re-
member one day in spring, week or so
before we broke camp, we were working
near the river, and thu two men who
sawed in tvs the loh Blu chopped decided
to "run" him--.tha3 is, to work so last
cutting up his trees that he could not keep
ahead OF them. Bill saw what they were
up to, and then for two hours there was
some Of the Iiveliest work ever done in
those woods. During that time Bill worked
like steam engine, and Tor every cut
the two men made he chopped down a
tree. 1t was most remarkable perform
ance, and in the two hours be chopped
down about fifty trees. some of which
we're as muCu he bWO lt6I III buICkueSo
Bill was very popular with the M u, and
,ver ready to lend helping hand. On
lay the foreman fell off a log into the
river and got under a jam of logs,
managing, however, to get to a spot
where be could keep his head out of
wafer. Bill heard mis- cries, and rushing
over the logs in the jam succeeded in
guiding the foreman 10 a place where he
could get out. One of his peculIarities
chopping in the snow in his stocking